Nissan has announced that it has entered into an agreement with sustainable energy operator Envision Group for the sale of the OEM’s electric battery operations and production facilities.
Envision will acquire Nissan subsidiary Automotive Energy Supply Corporation and battery manufacturing operations in Smyrna, Tennessee, owned by Nissan North America (NNA), and in Sunderland in the UK, owned by Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK (NMUK).
Envision will also acquire Nissan’s Japanese battery development and production engineering operations in Oppama, Atsugi and Zama.
“We are pleased to have secured a definitive agreement with Envision, a leading global company in the field of sustainable energy,” commented Yasuhiro Yamauchi, Nissan’s chief competitive officer.
“The transaction will enable Nissan to concentrate on developing and producing market-leading electric vehicles – in line with the goals set in our midterm plan, Nissan MOVE to 2022. We are confident that Envision will be a strong, long-term owner of the new company and that it will further grow as a battery company with increased competitiveness.”
“We are excited to announce the acquisition of Nissan’s battery business, a leading producer of advanced, safe and reliable lithium-ion batteries,” added Lei Zhang, founder and CEO of Envision.
“Together with the battery business management team and its highly skilled workforce, this partnership will see Envision expand both organizations’ footprints into the intelligent energy ecosystem to create new innovative solutions for the IoT value chain.
“With this strategic acquisition and collaboration, we aim to expand our activities via investment in the new company to realize the value of IoT technology for smart transportation, V2G, and smart city solutions.”
The workforce at all facilities covered by the deal will continue to be employed. The headquarters and development centers of the business will remain in Japan.
Nissan will implement the transaction by first taking full control of AESC – founded in 2007 to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries – by acquiring the combined 49% minority holding held by NEC Corporation and its wholly owned electrode development and production subsidiary, NEC Energy Devices (NECED).
NEC announced its approval of the sale of AESC shares to Nissan and the sale of NECED shares to Envision.
Pending regulatory approvals, the transaction, which is subject to normal consultation with staff representative bodies, is expected to be completed by March 29, 2019.
The transaction is contingent on Nissan purchasing all shares in AESC and Envision concluding purchase of all NECED shares from NEC. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Under the agreement, Nissan has agreed to retain a 25% share or equity interest in the entity newly formed by Envision.
